Today’s hero: Man who saved abducted girl

Stories of abducted children don’t end this way often. Not often enough.

But in Fresno this week an 8-year-old got free of her abductor and is with her family.

She beat the odds in large part due to Victor Perez and his 1988 pickup.

The Los Angles Times reports that Perez and a cousin were watching news of the abduction Tuesday morning.

The TV reports included surveillance video of the truck that the abductor used the night before. And suddenly, there it was, right in front of Perez’s home.

So he jumped in his 1988 Ford pickup and gave chase, trying to force the other truck off the road. At one point, he saw the little girl’s head pop up.

“I made eye contact with her. And that’s when I wasn’t scared anymore,” Perez said. “I won’t kid you, until then I’d thought ‘Does this guy have a gun?’ But once I met her eyes, I just thought ‘I’ve got to get that little girl out of there.’ “

He eventually blocked the other truck. The suspect pushed the girl out and ran. He was later arrested.

The suspect, who allegedly sexually assaulted the girl, was later arrested.